The Pill
by andalitebandit-6
Summary: Zim has invented a pill that makes Irkens immune to water! But before he can brag about it to his Tallests, they drop the bomb about his useless existence. Zim goes insane and seeks help from the only other insane person he knows... later ZADR planned.
1. Chapter 1

The Pill

Chapter 1:

_Any moment now..._

Zim's eyes were glued to the static on the computer screen. Every so often, when his vision went blurry, he'd blink.

_Any minute now, they'll be calling me back. My Tallest will appear on the screen and tell me that they were just testing my loyalty, or that it was just a joke! Those two have always had an odd sense of humor..._

He wasn't sure how long he'd been waiting now. It could have been days or merely hours. Zim had originally contacted his leaders to inform them of his latest invention, a pill that would grant any Irken the immunity to water enjoyed by the wretched humans! He'd come up with the idea during his literature class, when they'd read the story of the Achilles, a Greek boy whose mother held him by the heel of his foot and dipped the rest of his body into an enchanted lake. Every part of his body that the water touched became indestructible! It was only the heel of his foot that could be damaged, and in the end it was his downfall. But Zim was not as foolish as those humans. The pill he'd created worked by his perfected method of gene therapy: One would take the pill, wait for it to circulate throughout his system, and then immerse himself completely in the hateful water. Like a vaccine that contained the very virus it was meant to fight! Everywhere the liquid touched would become totally water resistant! He'd never have to worry about forgetting to bathe in paste again, and that irksome Dib-human would have one less weapon to use against him!

There was, however, one slight drawback. Because of his race's sensitivity to water, the entire immunization process had to take place in exactly one second. This meant that, after that allotted time-frame, any part of his body that hadn't gotten wet would become his 'Achilles Heel' and he wouldn't have another chance to do it over. His immune system's superior responsiveness would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the immunization to be repeated. For this reason the garden hose would not suffice, and neither would jumping into a pool. At least not from the pitiful height of a normal diving board. He'd have to find someplace higher; so that the planet's gravity would speed the immersion and make full use of the precious milliseconds it took to break the skin of the water's surface.

And he'd have to do it naked.

It would take too long for the water to soak through the clothing and get to his skin; this included his wig and contacts, so he'd have to do it at night, when there would be fewer humans about. But the Irkens on the Massive and on his home planet need not take such precautions. He would be praised as a hero, perhaps they might even invite him to come home early and host a banquet in his honor. It would at least show them that his time on Earth (while he had yet to conquer it) had not been wasteful.

Of course, this was all in theory, as he had yet to test it. All other Earth creatures were already water-proof, and there were no local Irkens to use as guinea pigs. Hesitant to risk his own safety, Zim hoped that once he'd convinced his Tallest of the benefits, they would send him one.

Which was why he was sitting there now, waiting for them to call him back. They hadn't given him a chance to tell them of his invention, hadn't even listened to him long enough for him to give the proper greetings before Tallest Red had begun screaming; screaming at Zim, telling him all sorts of horrible things that simply couldn't be true. They just couldn't be!

Although he hadn't told them about it, perhaps his leaders had somehow learned of the Earth holiday 'April Fools' and had decided to adopt their own version of it. This was merely their way of introducing it to him.

Yes, that was it. It was all just a joke!

Zim blinked, _Any second now... there!_

Suddenly he could see the forms of his Tallests from the black and white static on the screen, like the ones you can make out of a Magic Eye image. Through the white noise of the static he could hear their slightly garbled speech! He'd have to check his visual and audio filters later. For now, he listened closer.

"Bzzzzztgxz-just-a-joke-Zzzzzzzim!"

Yes! They were there! He could see them! They were black and white and their shapes twitched and faded in and out of focus, but they were there! They were laughing, and Red was saying something. It sounded to Zim as if he'd heard this before, that the words he was hearing now were the echo of a recent memory. Zim strained his antennae forward and listened.

"Bzzzzzzzzzzzt-you're-just-joke-Zim!-zzzzzzzzzzzzt "

The Tallest were laughing again. Their laughter buzzed like a swarm of killer death bees, and their forms shook and wavered with the force of their laughter...

Zim's uprooted chair slammed into them, the black and white fuzz solidifying into a dark grey as the liquid crystals in his computer screen oozed out through the broken glass.

But he could still hear their buzzing laughter. It came from everywhere and nowhere, it bounced off the walls and the ceiling and the floor, never fading... in fact, it seemed to only become _louder_.

Someone screamed. The sound could barely be heard over the laughter. Zim felt his body become too hot and he shuddered, a muscle spasm, like a sharp, oppressing cough racked him. The scream came again and again, until the raw feeling in his throat revealed its source. When the feeling passed, he noticed his hands were bleeding. They were clenched shut and he could see the blood seep out between his claws. The wires and cables that hung and protruded from all around his lab were ripped out and sparking viciously, broken beakers and test tubes littered the floor and crunched under his boots wherever his feet landed. His lab was completely trashed! Ruined! But Zim didn't care. He had to get out of there. His house was being filled with ghost bees, invisible buzzing demons sent from Blorch to take him back to Foodcourtia! NEVER! They'd never take him alive!

Zim fled to his elevator shoot, only to find it was no longer operational. The wires connecting the power to it dangled shredded and useless at its sides. Zim lost no time in jumping inside, tearing out its ceiling and using his spider legs to crawl up the shaft.

He soon reached ground floor and the noise there wasn't so bad... but he could feel himself being followed. The sound of bees buzzed up the shaft behind him and started spreading... started to fill this part of the house as well.

But that would be as far as they got, Zim thought. He'd trap them here, seal up all the windows, the doors, the mouse-beast holes, everything crack and crevice; then later, when he'd built a new base and a new lab, he'd come back and destroy this place, and the evil buzzing creatures with it!

"C... Co..."

_Computer! Activate emergency lock-down! Seal the basement entrance and ready the voot for take-off!_

Is what Zim WANTED to say, but his voice was still too hoarse. He tried again, "Cohh... cohmph... *cough-cough-hack-wheezzze*"

The noise was getting louder again. The computer might not be able to hear him even if he'd been able to shout properly now. He was running out of time...

He spotted a window, the one that GIR always left open. He sprinted towards it and jumped out, turning to slam it shut as soon as he was clear with such force that any normal human window would have shattered.

Then he ran.

He wasn't sure where he was going BUT, he wasn't running away. NOT ZIM! This was a tactical retreat! Yes! He just had to go somewhere where he could hear himself think then he'd come up with a plan. Maybe Gir could...

It occurred to him to wonder where the little robot was. Was he trapped inside? Had he escaped?

"It doesn't matter," said the spectator outside himself. He looked like Zim in his human disguise. "If he escaped he'll find you sooner or later. If he didn't, there's no helping him right now. You should be more worried about yourself."

Zim looked down and took stock. His fists were bruised and he was bleeding a little from various places. His clothes were torn up, and he'd left his wig and contacts inside the base.

Zim gave the spectator a 'Now, what?' look.

The spectator crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes in thought. "We need a new base of operations until we can disinfest the house," he said. "And we must do it soon! As stupid as the human-pigs are, they might notice a house full of buzzing bees and try to investigate..."

He remained quiet for a while and just when Zim's patience was about to run out he spoke again.

"Dib's house."

Zim's jaw dropped and he gaped at the spectator in disbelief. Perhaps the bees had already gotten to him and he'd gone insane. Or perhaps it was Zim who was insane and the spectator was sane and that's why the plan sounded insane to him.

"He already knows what you are," the spectator explained. "You've worked together to take down a common threat before and if the bees escape they'll be a threat to his beloved rotating ball of filth too. He'll have no choice but to help you."

Zim nodded. The plan made sense now. But that may have been because they were both insane.

The specter stopped running and after noticing his absence, Zim did too. When he looked up, he noticed they'd arrived at their destination. Confronted with this, Zim suddenly felt he really shouldn't be there. This might be a mistake. He couldn't trust the Earth-filthy! But even as these thoughts went through his mind, Zim's bloody, clawed fist was already reached out on its own and knocking on the door.

(End Chapter 1)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

Dib was distracted from his late-night, last minute studies by a loud and incessant pounding at his front door. From the sound of it, if he didn't answer soon, he wouldn't have a door anymore.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" he called out, as he abandoned his things and raced down the stairs.

The pounding had abruptly stopped before he even reached the doorknob. Suspicious, Dib made sure the latch and chain were firmly in place before opening the door just a crack. He gaped at his late night visitor. "...Zim?"

The fact that the invader was at his house was not what surprised him. Zim had tried to confront the human in his home many times before... Just never without his wig and contacts. Or looking like he'd just climbed out of a car wreck. He flung the door open, only to have it catch on the chain and bounce shut. Removing the latch and chain, he opened it again. On his doorstep he began to wave his arms frantically to get the attention of whoever happened to populate the outside world at the moment. "LOOK EVERYONE, IT'S AN ALIEN! I'M NOT CRAZY!"

"GOD, SHUT UP!" said the bag-lady and threw a shoe from her cart at Dib's oversized head.

His confidence once more deflated, he just muttered, "Whatever... so," he brought his attention back to the invader, "What diabolical scheme to take over the Earth are you plotting now? Do you even realize you're out here in public without your disguise on? Not that it matters, obviously, since people are IDIOTS who can't even see what's RIGHT in front of their-"

Zim shoved Dib aside and let himself in, heading straight to where he knew the boy's medicine cabinet was. The pitiful concoctions were slow acting and tasted horrible... but at least they were not surrounded by an angry swarm of death bees.

Dib jumped in front of him, blocking his path. "HEY!" he yelled, "You can't just come into my house like that! Plus I wasn't done talking... that's just plain rude, you know. And you look like crap. You gonna tell me what's going on here?"

"B... buh-*cough*" Zim tried to talk again, but it was still no good. "... bee-*koff-koff*" The effort was painful, and obviously wasted on the worm-baby who clearly failed to comprehend the situation. Zim changed tactics and tried to tell his story using a combination of hand-gestures and interpretive dance.

The Dib, though impressed, continued to stare stupidly. He wondered where the pretty pink ribbon wand Zim was expertly twirling had suddenly appeared from...

Zim was getting tired and was just about ready to break his wand over the boy's enormous head in frustration when the human suddenly realized, "OH! You can't talk because you have a sore throat and need a cough drop? Hold on a second..."

Dib opened his cabinet and fished for a cherry flavored piece, unwrapping it on his way back to Zim, "Here."

Zim eyed it warily, but accepted it in the end. After a few minutes of sucking on the hard candy, he said, "We have a favor to ask, human."

Dib left his mouth open with the next word left to hang. He closed it, looking around confused. "We?"

Zim blinked and looked behind himself, surprised that he was, in fact, alone. He looked back at Dib and shrugged. "He's probably in the kitchen making waffles... I'm hungry."

"Waffles?" Dib was completely baffled. "Are you talking about GIR? Did he blow up your toaster or something?" Or maybe the waffles themselves had exploded. Dib wouldn't put it past the malfunctioning little robot.

"GIR?" asked Zim, also looking confused. He shrugged again. "He might have by now, if he's still in there. I can't worry about him now."

_Okay, getting off-track and a headache here..._ Dib shook his head. "Never mind."

He crossed his arms and stared hard at the alien. "Why should I help you with anything?"

"I need your help blowing up my house," he said casually on his way to the kitchen. "I trapped something eeevil in there!"

Dib's eyes popped open wide. "Blow up your house? Something evil? What are you talking about? What 'evil' thing lives there besides you? Is it a monster? Did he do this to you?"

Zim shook his head and looked around again as if looking for someone. He simply shrugged when he couldn't find him. "Not just one... it's an ARMY of monsters! Hundreds, no, THOUSANDS of them! They've come to hurt Zim! They destroyed my lab! They almost got me too, but I escaped! Ha.. haha... HAHAHA-*cough-cough-cough-choke*"

Zim collapsed, bringing his hand up to his throat to rub and sooth it. His voice became soft, and almost trembled at his next words. "I... I think... I think my Tallests might have sent them. Did you know..?" They think they can do this to the mighty ZIM and get away with it? I won't let them! I'll destroy the little beasts, and make sure they never come back!" He smiled triumphantly at the human. "That's where you come in!"

Zim's expectant smile unnerved the boy, but not as much as the entire conversation in general did. If Dib didn't know any better, he'd swear Zim was going to ask him to-

"You're going with me back to destroy Irk! And we have to do it soon, before they send more bees!"

Dib cocked an eyebrow. "Riiiight. So after all this time of trying to take over my planet for your evil alien race you just decided to invite me over and destroy them all? Just because a few bees flew into your house? That's pathetic, even for you, Zim! What are you REALLY plotting?"

Zim's smile faltered. "No, not me!" he said, shaking his own head. "I'm telling you it's THEM! They sent those bees here to Earth, and isn't it your job to protect this planet?"

Dib nodded. "Yeah. So?"

Zim furrowed his brow. "Is something wrong?"

"I'll say there is! If this isn't a trick, it still doesn't explain why you're acting more insane than usual."

Zim said nothing. He just looked at the boy with a mixture of dissappointment and anger.

"... Zim?" Dib said, a hint of doubt sneaking into his voice. "You're not actually serious, right?"

"You're not going to help me, are you?"

Dib gaped disbelieving at him, "Holy moose, you ARE serious! You actually beleive-"

But Zim wasn't in the mood for talk anymore. Instead he turned on his heel, threw the door open and ran.

(End of Chapter 2)

Thank you Taco Lord Brian and the random guest for your support!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Zim ran out the door. He ran down the street. He ran past the school and kept running, with no destination in mind. It had been a mistake to ask his enemy for anything. Of course he wouldn't help! He LIKED seeing Zim suffer! They all did! The Dib was probably laughing his enormous head off, rolling around the floor the moment Zim left his house!

What could he do now? Where was that other guy that was with him a few moments ago? Probably still at the humans house eating HIS waffles! But now Zim had nowhere left to go. Nothing was left to him except...

Zim slowed his pace to a jog, then a walk, and finally stopped to catch his breath against the flat of a large boulder. He had no idea where he was, but there sure were a lot of trees around. He brought one of his fisted hands to eye level and opened it, slowly.

Sitting in the bloody palm was a pill. The very one he'd been about to show his Tallest. They would never know about it now. The knowledge of its existence was now Zim's alone.

Zim smiled, a new plan hatching in his amazing brain. It'd be a shame to waste such an ingenious thing. With no other choice available to him, Zim would test it himself. He'd find a high place on his own somewhere, somewhere overlooking an ocean or deep sea. If the pill worked, he would live. If it didn't... well, there wasn't much chance of that happening was there? It was an invention of ZIM, after all. It was the pinnacle of his ingenuity, the end result of all his years worth of hard work and brilliance rolled up in a tiny, cylindrical package.

The pill wouldn't lie.

* * *

Dib stopped running and stood panting on the corner of the street. "Man, Zim can run!" He'd lost sight of the alien a while back, and had to stop often to ask passersby if they'd seen a bloody looking green kid in a pink and black striped dress running by. But it was already past dark. Not too many people were out.

Dib removed his glasses and wiped off the fog that had collected from his breath. It was getting colder and darker and more dangerous to be outside by the minute. There was no telling what Zim might do to himself or others in his current state of mind. He replaced his glasses and rubbed his temples, trying to calm himself and think.

"Okay, let's look at the facts." Dib ticked them off on his fingers. "Fact Number 1: Zim thinks his house is haunted or something and wants to destroy it. Fact Number 2: He thinks his leaders are trying to kill him. Fact Number 3: He 's desperate. Desperate enough to leave his house without his disguise, desperate enough to ask his enemy, **me**, for help. Desperate enough to..?"

Dib frowned at the possibilities, and also at himself. "Why am I worried? Zim plans on destroying his own house! His house that has all his anti-Earth weapons, data and technological stuff! Maybe even blow himself up with it! These are all good things... right? So why bother stopping him? Why not just go home and let my problem fix itself?"

_That's exactly why!_ another part of his mind told him. _He's YOUR problem; YOUR alien! You found him, studied him, chased him, fought him, and promised to defeat him. You've claimed him as your own and made everything he does your business and therefore your responsibility. You've invested in him too much of your time, resources, hopes and dreams to give him up to a freak accident!_

Dib sighed, rubbing his temples again. "Well, that's that. Next question... Where would an incredibly insane extraterrestrial who thought he had nothing left to lose go? Not home. There's something there that scares him. Back to his own planet? Not without his voot cruiser, which is probably still inside the house... it doesn't seem like there's much he can do by himself at this point. Wasn't that why he'd come to me in the first place? But now that I've gone and crushed his hopes, would he just decide to put himself out of his misery? But that's so out of character for Zim. Then again he hasn't exactly been acting like himself lately either. Perhaps..?"

Dib ran his mind over his options. An image of a mass body of water kept nagging at him. "Did he go to the public pool in the community center? Nah, it's closed at this time. The water park? Too far away. The beach?"

Dib spun his body and sprinted towards its general direction. "The beach! I just hope I'm not too late!"

(End Chapter 3)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Zim had found his ocean alright. His class had taken a trip to the beach once to collect stinky, rotten sea-shells for some meaningless homework project or other. There had been a tree line further down that led up to a cliff that overlooked the entire thing. The roar of the waves crashing against its side drowned out the faint buzzing echoes that had lingered in his mind, and for that alone he knew this had been a good idea.

Zim made his way up to the edge and just admired the view for a while. The moon was out and its reflection on the water made it sparkly, as if the waves had been sprinkled with glitter. It was amazing how something so deadly could look so pretty.

_Enough stalling!_ The spectator berated him.

Zim growled in annoyance, but began to remove his clothing anyway. "Who does this irken think he is, that he thinks he can come and go and command ZIM of the IRKEN ELITE around as he pleases? And wasn't it HIS pathetic idea to visit the Dib-monster? PATHETIC! Might as well take advice from a grease eating weasel monkey... But he is correct in this instance! Zim should not stall! The world will soon YET AGAIN be witness to the great Zim's... greatness!"

Zim finished undressing and placed his clothing in a little pile beside him. Opening his fist, he took a little time to admire his creation for the last time, ignoring the glare from the spectator. Licking a bit of the blood away, he let his tongue dart out and snatch it, swallowing it whole. He took a step forward, sizing up the drop into the shimmering midnight blue. He stretched his body and gathered himself so that he'd enter the water straight as a pencil to disperse the force of impact.

Then he jumped.

(...splash...)

At first he felt the familiar burning sensation. It was warm, then warmer, then unbearably hot. Every inch of him was on fire and it took all his willpower not to scream. It felt as if every vein was shattering underneath his skin. His entire body shook, his muscles tensed.

Damn. Damn! DAMN! He had to maintain better control or...

And then, suddenly, it was over. The sea water stopped hurting. It, in fact, began to cool and soothe his burning flesh. The pill had worked. He would live after all.

Zim sighed in relief after not wanting to admit to himself that he'd had any doubts. The action caused him promptly to choke. Zim then realized the one, tiny, overlooked flaw in his otherwise brilliant plan. Having spent a lifetime avoiding water... he didn't know how to swim.

His dive had taken him pretty far under, and the moonlight was dim, high above his head. Zim began thrashing but the moon didn't seem to be getting any closer. He was still weak from the earlier pain and current lack of oxygen.

_NO!_ his mind screamed. _THE GREAT LEGACY OF ZIM CANNOT END HERE!_

But already his limbs had stopped working, and he was losing to the darkness that was creeping around the borders of his vision... soon Zim's mind was carried away from his consciousness on the waves of midnight blue.

(End Chapter 4)

A/N: Thankies to my 4 reviewers for their support! I'm hoping for 5 reviews next time!

Wumbo: Sorry you didn't get to see Dib see Zim naked! xD It's his perspective next though, so look forward to that!

Youlietoziiiim: Glad you like it so much!

Emerald Ashes: Maybe not a 'running' dive, but yeah, he's committed xD


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Dib entered his room breathing heavily, dripping wet, with his scythe hanging annoyingly in front of his face. He ignored it though, and heeled the door shut behind him. He deposited a cold, naked Zim face-down on his bed, turning his head to one side to avoid having him suffocate on his pillow. The invader was unconscious, but breathing and Dib had gone through a hell of a lot of trouble to get him that way to be careless now. Both irken and human stank of algae and sea water. Dib knew he needed a shower. The sand in his hair, in his mouth, and under his clothes that was irritating the heck out of him. But he was just so exhausted...

Locking the door out of habit, he started peeling off his wet clothes, leaving them in a sopping mess in the corner. He'd deal with them and the wet-dog smell they were sure to leave on his carpet in the morning. All except his trench coat... his beloved trademark trench that he'd probably never see again. Dib had found it was too heavy to swim with it on and had removed it, letting the ocean have it.

Turning to his dresser drawers, Dib started rummaging around blindly for his pyjamas. He thought about everything that had just happened. It had all been too fast for him to think about it at the time.

Such as when he'd thrown himself off the cliff after Zim.

What had possessed him to do that, exactly? Dib tried to remember...

_Zim had been standing at the cliff's edge when Dib finally caught up to him. He was looking down on the crashing waves and leaping foam, but Dib couldn't believe that what he was thinking could possibly be Zim's intentions..._

_After Zim stepped up to the very edge, Dib's body reacted on its own, racing towards the crazy alien, hoping to catch him before..._

_Zim jumped. Dib, in his rush to reach the irken, had tripped and fallen gracelessly face-first into the dirt. When he looked up, Zim was gone, his pile of ragged clothes the only testament that he'd been there at all. Dib stood up and stumbled over next to the pile, staring unbelievable at the empty air before him. Why hadn't he said anything? Shouted Zim's name to get his attention? Said "Wait!",or "Stop!", or "Did your kind really abduct Elvis?"..._

_Dib looked down, scanning the waters, looking for... for what?_

_Bubbles. There weren't many. But they called to him. The air bubbles, like a siren's call that lures sailor's ships to their doom, planting a desperate thought in his head: The dead don't scream._

_There were large jagged rocks below, and if he landed on any of them he would've died instantly. It was a miracle that Zim had missed them. The water was pitch black. He had no idea how he found the irken amidst all that blackness. Instinct maybe? Dib never thought of himself as a strong swimmer, but somehow he managed to find and grab a hold of Zim's middle and get both of them to the beach shore. Once there, he immediately flipped the irken on his back, the position made awkward by his PAK. He'd held Zim's head up and began CPR, a technique he'd seen done only in movies. He had no way of knowing if he was doing it right or whether it would work even if he was, Irken biology being different from that of a human and all. But he wasn't thinking about that just then. He had to do SOMETHING! After a few repetitions of forcing air into Zim's mouth, pounding his stomach while alternately cursing his name and threatening to do horrible things to him if he died, the invader finally regained consciousness long enough to sit up, vomit sea-water all over himself, then pass out again._

_Dib absorbed the mess with dry sand and brushed it off, going back to the sea to briefly wash his hands. Everything was a blur. He'd lost his glasses at some point. Walking over to the green blur, he'd picked the alien up and adjusted him in his arms in a bride-over-the-threshold carry. Taking a deep breath, he started the long walk home..._

Meanwhile, Zim was sleeping peacefully, though snoring PRETTY loud.

"Holy ghost bunnies! How is it even possible for him to snore if he doesn't have a nose? Should I restrain him somehow? In case he wakes up and is still nuts? I don't see anything I could use as rope lying around..."

Suddenly, the adrenaline high that had lent the boy superhuman strength and carried him this far had finally tapped out. His knees buckled and his brain felt like it was swimming in its own fluid. His mind and body were exhausted. Dib's limbs felt like noodles, and he was ready to crash at any moment. "So tired... brain... out of juice... need... juicer..."

Tired as he was, Dib still managed to dig out the sleeping bag he used for overnight stakeouts from his closet. Just in time, too. No sooner had he rolled it out than his brain shut down and he collapsed on top of it, asleep before he hit the nylon. If he woke up with a psychotic alien wielding a death ray to his temple upon waking up... that was Morning Dib's problem.

(End Chapter 5)

Woot! I only asked for 5, but I got 6 reviews! Thank you very much! Sucks that it's always the fic I'm less invested in that gets all the reviews and all the attention, though. I wasn't even planning on posting this initially because there are already so many Tallest-Tell-Zim-His-Mission-is-Fake stories out there, I figured people would be tired of them by now.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Zim screamed. It was a soundless scream trapped in a thousand bubbles that floated up and away while their owner continued to sink and drown. His flesh burned horribly. He could feel his skin blistering up, could feel it melting off his bones. His eyes were shut tight in pain, but soon even his eyelids dissolved and he was forced to watch the clear water around him become polluted with green. All that time he was was sinking, slipping away. And then the thought came: that this was not some strange, impossible nightmare, but that it was real. All of it.

He blinked and the image was gone.

Zim shivered, pulling his arms around his body, surprised to discover that he was, once again, whole. Anger, confusion over what he was angry about, and the frustration of not knowing which one was reality fought for his attention.

"Mmph... not big... stupid alien... Zzzz"

Zim looked up at the sound of the familiar voice, wondering what new horrors waking life held for him.

"THE DIB!" Zim wanted to exclaim. But no sound came out. Zim worked his lips. Had to remember to breathe in to speak. Couldn't speak even then. He looked around for the spectator guy, but he wasn't there. Very lonely without him. -He- always seemed to know what was going on.

But the Dib! Why was the human here? Had Zim been captured? Or was he dreaming still? Dreaming that he was awake?

Zim took stock of his surroundings. He recognized where he was instantly. But he wasn't wearing sleep cuffs, chains, or any other restrictive devices. The door and window were closed, but easily unlocked from this side. It would be easy enough to escape, especially with the Dib sleeping soundly as he was.

But where would he go?

Dib's unconscious must have sensed something. He opened his eyes and blinked groggily up at the bewildered irken staring off into space.

"...Hey."

Zim jumped back, eyes widening with shock, then quickly narrowing with suspicion.

"Feeling better?" Dib asked the green blur, "Geez, Zim, what were you thinking? You could've DIED, you know? And hey, how come your water allergy didn't act up?"

Zim took a moment to digest Dib's words. He wasn't dead. His water allergy hadn't reacted. He grinned excitedly!

"It worked!" Zim wanted to say. "Zim is a genius! And soon, Zim shall RULE!"

Dib watched him mouth these words and pump his fists triumphantly in the air. "Hold on, I'll get you another cough-drop."

Zim watched Dib remain motionless for a second. The boy blinked in surprise. He narrowed his eyes and made various struggling noises: grunting, growling, and squeeking. After a minute of this, he gave up. "Well... this is embarrassing. I feel like a giant wet noodle." He turned his head towards the bed. "This is YOUR fault, Zim! Your fault for doing something so stupid and making me save your crazy green-"

Zim was leaning over the side of the bed. He was staring Dib in the eyes, a naked claw reaching over slowly towards him.

Dib tried vainly to shrink back, "Hey, what are you-!"

Zim poked his arm. No response. He poked it harder, and still nothing. Then he gave it a good punch, just to make sure.

"Quit that!" Dib yelled. "I saved your life, you know! That was probably a mistake, but..."

Zim climbed down and lifted Dib's arm, then let it drop. It fell like a rock. He did it again, with the same results. It was true! The Dib couldn't move! He was vulnerable, helpless... and at Zim's mercy!

Dib could see the whites of his zipper teeth as the space boy grinned at him wickedly.

He gulped nervously, "Oh gawd... PLEASE tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking."

The green blur dodged out of Dib's line of vision. He could hear rummaging noises coming from his dresser. His dresser where he kept his shirts, his shorts, his underwear... nothing dangerous

*Beep-beep-beep-boop... wrrr-CACHINK*

Dib recognized the sound of the digital lock on the false bottom of last drawer being opened. How did Zim even know it was there?! It was where he kept his UFO Motion Detector, his Alien Mapping Laser System, his Topeak TT2353 Alien Probing Tool...

...crud.

Zim returned, sat on Dib's stomach, the whole time smiling his homocidal maniac smile.

Dib tried desperately again to make his body respond to his commands and was just about to cry for help (though he already knew nobody would come) when suddenly-!

He could see again.

Zim chuckled amusedly to himself, then reached over and took the spare glasses he'd fetched from Dib's secret drawer off of the boys face. Then he put them back on. Then took them off again.

"Zim bestows upon you, the gift of sight!" the alien mouthed. "Now you're blind! Now you can see! Now you're blind! See! Blind! See! Blind! YOUR PUNY HUMAN EYEBALLS ARE ZIM'S TO COMMAND!"

Dib's gripping terror was fading, giving way to relief, then moving on to annoyance. "Dammit, Zim! Would you stop being crazy for 10 seconds and go get a stupid cough drop!? And... and put some clothes on! It's kinda weird having you sitting naked on top of me..."

Zim's smile twisted into an indignant frown, and flew into an epic rant. Dib couldn't hear or understand any of it, of course, but he had a good idea it had something to do with the irken having his megalomanic ego butthurt at being given orders. It pained him to do it, but compromised as he was, Dib knew he had no choice.

"My deepest apologies, oh great and mighty irken warrior!" Dib managed to say without rolling his eyes. "I beg of you, please, have mercy!"

Zim paused in his rant, looking genuinely surprised with the human's suddenly becoming docile and submissive. It pleased his squeedly spooch. He grinned and replaced the inferior ocular enhancers on the bridge of Dib's nose as a reward. Dib sighed in relief, "Thank you."

Zim's antennae perked. Did his arch enemy just thank him? Oh, this was just getting better and better! Feeling generous, the alien decided to do the human one last act of irken kindness...

Dib's eyes bugged out as Zim flashed open his sharply clawed hands and slashed his clothes off with expert precision, leaving the skin underneat unscathed. But that was a small comfort. It seemed Zim wasn't done with him just yet.

(End Chapter 6)

And I'm ending it here for a while. I have no idea where I want this story to go next. Plus I've got 2 other stories fighting for my attention inside my brains. One's another ZADR, the other is a het Kung Fu Panda pairing: Po/Tigress

Thanks again to: **Fancykitty1123, Andrea, youlietoziiiiiim, DudeguyTheWriter, and vextary for reviewing the previous chapter ;D**


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